please log in to view this image Je maintiendrai, it's on the crest of the Dutch monarchy. And in English it means I will remain, or better: I will stand my ground. It is in French because Napoleon put it there. When the Kingdom of Holland was founded in 1806 they designed this crest and for some reason it stayed that way for over two centuries now. please log in to view this image Why the history lesson? It's because this creed ironically applies to the Eredivisie. Every year, at the end of the season, football fans in The Netherlands always fear the transfer period in the summer. For who will remain in their squad at the end of August? It is seldom that a team can stay intact over the three months when hunting season is open in the Dutch football. And for most of the clubs, it's a battlefield. When clubs from the big leagues come they usually leave a mess behind. And this year is no exception. Last week I wrote about the situation at PSV and how their team of last season was gone, completely vanished. But they weren't the only team that lies in tatters and have lost key players. Now today is the start of the Eredivisie. And as usual it starts with a game for the Dutch Supercup, the Johan Cruyff Shield. This year AZ Alkmaar will face Ajax Amsterdam. The winners of the league cup against the winners of the championship. Now today's game is more than winning a cup. These two clubs have undergone the transfer period in opposite ways. AZ Alkmaar lost key players Jozy Altidore to Sunderland, and Adam Maher to PSV Eindhoven. But they attracted new players such as defenders Gouweleeuw(SC Heerenveen) and Wuytens(NAC Breda) and midfielder Gudelj, also from NAC. The defenders were bought with the departure of talented defender Viergever in mind and because Reijnen was inept and not good enough for the Eredivisie. AZ have basically a new team, which hasn't been tested but today they will have to perform to win against Ajax. Not just for the prize, but to show the fans that they can look forward to the new season, to show the supporters what they can expect the coming season. That they will remain, even when the key players are gone. please log in to view this image At Ajax, it's quite the opposite. Ajax have sold none of their first eleven player... none. Eriksen, still at the club, same goes for De Jong, Vermeer and Alderweireld. All have turned down clubs from abroad to stay with Ajax. Eriksen snubbed Bayer Leverkusen, Alderweireld Norwich. Vermeer attracted a lot of attention but stayed put. And De Jong said that he doesn't feel like leaving the club any time soon. Even more Eriksen and Alderweireld both claimed they were willing to sing an extension to stay at Ajax. So Ajax has managed to hang on to their key players for the first time in decades. Today they will start the game with almost exactly the same squad as they finished the season with in May. A rarity in the Eredivisie. To give an example, last week was the kick off for Dutch teams in Europa. FC Utrecht entered the second qualification round for the Europa League and were drawn against Luxembourg side Differdange. A semi-pro team with a stadium that couldn't hold more than a thousand fans, so they had to reallocate the match to the capitol. FC Utrecht is in a similar position as PSV, but with less funds and lesser quality players. They lost defender Van der Hoorn to Ajax, Kali to Roda JC, Assare to AA Gent and Wuytens to AZ Alkmaar. All key players in the last season when they secured a fifth place in the Eredivisie. FC Utrecht was balancing on the brink of bankruptcy for the past couple of years but they managed. In Luxembourg they started with a new team with a lot of youth players. And it went horribly wrong. They lost 2-1 in Luxembourg and last Thursday they drew 3-3 to be knocked out by a bunch of semi-pros from a dwarf nation in football. The papers called them an embarrassment for Dutch football. The fans were extremely disappointed and can probably expect a poor season to come. please log in to view this image Now today will be a game of showing what you can do this season. Ajax can show if they can improve on last season. AZ has to show their fans that they will remain in the sub top of the Eredivisie. But there is a third party that has to show their abilities this evening: Fox. Last year Rupert Murdoch bought sports channel Eredivisie Live and tonight will be their first game that they broadcast in The Netherlands. Many sports channels failed in The Netherlands in the past. And Eredivisie Live was in the red figures as well. Fox signed a billion euro contract with the clubs for the broadcast rights till 2023. So instead of losing money, the Eredivisie clubs will now receive 60 to 80 million every season, giving it the boost that it desperately needs. please log in to view this image So in tonight's game everybody has something to win, but more so, something to prove. Can AZ stand their ground? Can Ajax show that they remain the best team in the Eredivisie? Tonight at 7, the game will kick off this season and hopefully answers these questions.
Still a long way to go in the transfer window. Games like this only put the likes of Alderwiereld and Eriksen in the shop window and make it tougher for Ajax to hold onto. I just can't see them keeping the current squad of players they have.
Great to see, hope they can hang on to them now. I initially wanted Eriksen here at Spurs but now Paulinho is here, it's hard to see where you could accomodate Eriksen in a team with Dembele, Sandro, Paulinho, Chadli, Lennon and Bale - All of whom would expect/ command a starting spot (can see Lennon missing out though). Ajax being my "foreign team" (hoping to go a bit more this season if I get the money and it doesn't clash with Spurs games), the Ajax in me prays we keep hold of Eriksen and Alderweireld. Vermeer is replaceable in my opinion, good keeper but there are plenty of "good" keepers about. If PSV re-signed Gomes then I'd love to see Zoet join Ajax if Vermeer was indeed lured away, future Dutch number 1 in my eyes, great talent, though the rivalry could prevent that. How many PSV and Ajax players have joined the other club?
The only two clubs that rarely exchange players are Ajax and Feyenoord, between PSV and Ajax it's not much of a problem. Kenneth Perez and Aissati changed clubs in the past. Though loaning out players is rare between the big clubs. On Kenneth Vermeer, they already have his replacement, Jasper Cillissen. Also very talented, but he is a tiny bit short with his 1m 88.
Game starts in 30 minutes at 20:00 CET, 19:00 GMT. Game is for the Dutch (Super)Cup. Here are the livestreams: http://www.wiziwig.tv/broadcast.php?matchid=212327&part=sports http://webfirstrow.eu/watch/197679/1/watch-az-vs-ajax.html http://www.sportcategory.com/c-1.html http://www.rojadirecta.me/ http://livetv.ru/en/eventinfo/180019_az_alkmaar_ajax/
